Russia
bneGreen: Steel faces paying for its carbon
The steel industry in Emerging Europe is staring at mounting costs as it must contend with paying for the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions it creates.
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The approval rating for Russian President Vladimir Putin slid from 66% in June to 61% in August
The approval rating for Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken a hit in the last two months, falling from 66% in June to 61% as of August and with 37% disapproving, according to the Levada Center, his worst result since last May.
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Russian banks are having their most profitable year since 2015
The profits earned by Russian banks in July continued to rise and are now at their highest level since at least 2015, according to the latest Central Bank of Russia (CBR) bulletin.
Russia’s ruling United Russia Party faces prospect of losing its majority in the upcoming elections
As its poll numbers drop to new lows, Putin-supporting United Russia Party faces the prospect of losing its absolute hold on power in September’s elections as its popularity falls to about 35%.
bneGREEN: Russia drafts hydrogen development plan
Russia plans to emerge as an exporter of hydrogen within the space of a few years and supply as much as 12mn tonnes per year (tpy) of the fuel by 2035, under a draft development plan approved in August.
Russia sets pro-Kremlin single betting operator, Qiwi payment system hurt
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has signed an executive order making Mobilnaya Karta the single operator of online betting. That will hurt listed online payment company Qiwi, which made a lot of money facilitating payments
Russia’s industrial production slows to 6.8% as low base effects wear off
As the low base effects fade, the growth in industrial production (IP) is showing signs of moderating y/y. IP growth in July slowed to 6.8% y/y vs. Bloomberg consensus expectations of 8% and estimates of 8.2% y/y.
Nord Stream 2 fails to get exemption from EU gas market rules
A court in Germany has ruled that Russia’s controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline should not be exempt from EU gas market rules, creating new headaches for the project’s state-owned operator Gazprom, which may be unable to use half the capacity.
bneGREEN: Wishful thinking in Russia's EconMin CO2 strategy
Economic Development Minister Maksim Reshetnikov has outlined the main directions of the country's GHG reduction strategy, which is increasingly focusing on ESG as the Kremlin wakes up to the dangers of global warming.
SOVA CAPITAL: Putin promises more social spending in September at United Russia congress
President Vladimir Putin spoke at the party congress for the ruling United Russia Party on 24 August and promised to increase social spending in September.
Russia gets $18bn in IMF's record giveaway
Russia has received $18bn worth of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) in the latest $650bn (456bn SDRs) transfer of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that will take its total reserves to a new all time high of $619bn.
KYIV BLOG: Merkel trying to cut an almost impossible gas transit deal for Ukraine
With only a month left in office German Chancellor Angela Merkel is trying to cut an energy deal that will allow Germany to receive gas from Russia’s new Nord Stream 2 but keep some gas flowing through Ukraine’s Druzhba gas pipelines.
bneGREEN: Will the Belarus NPP become the elephant in the room for Lithuania?
Lithuania has passed legislation to ban electricity imports from Belarus, but power from Lithuania’s hostile and unpredictable neighbour keeps trickling across the border through four 330-kV interconnectors.
VTB accelerates relocation to Frankfurt as UK losses balloon to $213mn
Kremlin-controlled lender VTB has relocated its CEO and chief operating officer from its London investment banking business to Frankfurt in the wake of a strategic business review and as its UK operation’s losses have quadrupled to $212.7mn.
Iran’s Caspian Sea gas find ‘may be so large it could meet a fifth of European gas needs’
Some say field could be “geopolitical gamechanger”. Tehran reportedly working with Russia and China in exploiting resource. Distribution of gas reportedly to be conducted in consultation with Moscow.
15% of Russian industrial companies are zombies
The share of zombie companies in Russian industry is 10-15%, according to the Centre for Business Studies of the National Research University Higher School of Economics.
Putin and Merkel meet in Moscow for the last time to talk democracy and gas
German Chancellor Angela Merkel flew to Moscow on August 20 to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the last time as chancellor for wide-ranging talks where jailed opposition critic Navalny and gas deliveries to Europe featured prominently.
The borscht index: The number of portions Russians can afford to cook has been falling
The purchasing power of Russians in the first half of this year fell in 64 of Russia’s 85 regions, according to the “borscht index”, a sort of Russian version of the well-known “Big Mac index”.
Cash “in an envelope” salaries are on the way out as Russia’s tax service continues its reforms
Only 11% of Russians receive remuneration for their work in whole or in part "in an envelope,” according to the results of a survey carried out by the state owned pollster VTsIOM.
Russia moves to take control of Afghan talks after Taliban takeover
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has proposed to restart the “Moscow format” talks with the Taliban.
